Another Name Fades

[LithiumSedai 5750]

[!] An obituary is posted on the notice boards of Helena.

 

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R I P

CHARLES-EDMOND TALRAEN DE RENNES

Loving Father and Husband

(12^th of Sun’s Smile, 1684 - 2^nd of Horen’s Calling, 1783)

 

 

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It is with great sadness that the House of Talraen announces the passing of Charles-Edmond Talraen, the former Baron Rennes, of natural causes on the 2^nd of Horen’s Calling, 1783 at the age of ninety-eight.

 

Born and raised in the Aeldinic countryside of Agathor, and an Imperial citizen since the age of eleven, Charles-Edmond was perhaps best known for continuing the legacy of Talraen de Rennes as capable Administrators in service of the Imperial Crown. He served as the Baron Rennes from 1695 to his abdication at the age of forty-eight in 1733; Deputy of Foreign Affairs from 1697 to 1699; Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1699 to 1702; Minister of the Interior and Arch-Seneschal from 1702 to 1725; Lord Regent in 1725.

 

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charles-Edmond had been instrumental in establishing relations with the Dwarven Kingdom of Agnarum and the Trade Federation of Sutica in the waning years of Atlas, despite his short tenure. Following his resignation, Charles-Edmond became the third Arch-Seneschal Talraen of the Imperial Crown, having been preceded by his grandfather -  Blessed Aran Talraen de Rennes and his great-grandmother - Lady Renna Talraen. He was best known for reaffirming the Assault Act of 1686, resulting in harsh punishments for violent outbursts against Imperial Stewards and Elven subjects of the Crown, and devising a highly successful housing-and-opportunities program for the newly-built city of Helena upon Arcas, together with the Imperial Treasurer, Lord Azoth Hawksong. Under his guidance, the Ministry of the Interior compiled and published several inter-vassal treaties and a post-war census of Renatian nobility.

 

From his appointment as Deputy of Foreign Affairs in 1697 to the Chamber’s ultimate dissolution in 1715, Charles-Edmond served a continuous term in the Imperial Parliament as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and a member of the Judiciary and Finance Committees. He joined the Imperial Preservation Party in 1702 and remained its staunch supporter until its dissolution, consistently pledging support to its monarchist and conservative bills and voting along party lines. Throughout the opening phase of the War of the Two Emperors, Charles-Edmond maintained a moderate stance on rebel activities, engaging in discourse with the Marnan claimant, Joseph the Pretender, and advocating lenient sentences and ransoms for captured Josephites in place of public executions. Following the Siege of Helena, the death of his brother Louis (allegedly at the hands of rebel forces) and the demise of his parents, Tristan and Aurora, to an Aeldinic plague, and the capture and execution of his closest friend, Ser Frederick Baden, his opinion of the Josephite movement shifted to that of cold hatred, manifesting in fanatical post-war opposition to the reformed Josephite Party and its ideals. Nonetheless, Charles-Edmond’s reputation as a merciful Renatian of the Great War earned him much admiration among certain opponents of Pertinaxi rule, resulting in a role instrumental to peace negotiations between the Imperium Renatum and the Golden City of Ves.

 

Charles-Edmond remained an Imperial Administrator throughout the restoration of the Holy Orenian Empire, and he took part alongside Romulus Cascadia and William Alstion in the negotiation of the post-war Pax Orenica. The Cascadian collapse and abdication saw Charles-Edmond temporarily assume the role of Imperial Lord Regent together with Prince Persus Helane. The pair opposed an attempt by Lord Adrian Sarkozic to seize the Orenian throne by force and instead backed the claim of Prince Charles Edward Alstion, resulting in a stalemate in the succession crisis and the subsequent adoption of the Treaty of Ves, which saw Imperial authority restored through Pontifical mediation and bestowed upon Emperor Alexander II Alstion de Joannes. Charles-Edmond then resigned from office, ending his tenure as a bureaucrat of the Crown. Following the Emperor’s untimely death, he withdrew from public life and abdicated the Barony of Rennes to his firstborn son, Owyn Adrian. His pension was evenly split between his heirs and a donation to the Church.

 

Charles-Edmond served with distinction in the Elven War and the War of the Two Emperors as an auxiliary Orderman of the Red Dragon, and as captain of his baronial levy, the Rennes Home Guard - which, however, never exceeded a modest size of five hundred armsmen even at its peak. Frequent skirmishes pitted Charles-Edmond’s units against elven archers and brigands, such as the infamous Reivers, and he received commendations and a personal decoration from Emperor Antonius, for his involvement in the capture and execution of the dark elven prince of Vira’ker, and a foiled attempt on Prince Persus’ life by a dark elven assassin. Throughout the civil war, Charles-Edmond and his levy avoided assignments against fellow humans, and instead sought combat against Fennic and Reiver regiments. One particularly brutal engagement manifested in the lifelong impairment of his left leg, leading to his distinct limp and adoption of his signature walking cane. During the Siege of Helena, the Rennes Home Guard assisted in defending Jan Sigmar Court, Helena’s baronial district, from Marnan looters.

 

Following the battle, Charles-Edmond organized several efforts to aid and assist Renatian veterans and their families. Together with Ser Frederick Baden, he designed and raised a memorial to the Renatian fallen. Ser Frederick’s name was posthumously added to the list of fallen knights at the memorial’s unveiling, at Charles-Edmond’s behest. The Josephite resurgence saw the memorial torn down; despite an urgent decree of Alexander II demanding it restored, this never occurred. In response, and after decades of private complaints to Orenian ministries, Charles-Edmond published a missive addressed to the Basrid Ministry of the Arch-Chancellor, requesting its restoration. The new Orenian governance partly obliged, raising a new memorial - though it did little to change the revisionist attitudes of the modern Orenian public. He once more withdrew from the public eye after this publication.

 

Charles-Edmond will be forever remembered by his beloved spouse of sixty-eight years, Emeline Ceriwyn, and their children, Adeline-Marie, Owyn-Adrian, and Victor; his nephews, Baldewin and Jules-Henri; his grand-nephew and grand-niece Guillaume and Fleurette-Elise, as well as his cousins Sebastian and Pierre-Luc.

 

 

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[!] A collection of Charles’ writings and decrees is listed by name along with the obituary, personal letters scheduled to be sent out at a later date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Axelu 4333]

From the heavens, The Renatian Princess Vivienne of Ardennes, among her kith and issue, welcomed the aged statesman with  stalwart devotion and a plentiful smile. 

 

”You remained the strongest among us, Signeur Rennes. Your name is etched into the prosperous annals of history forevermore, and you welcomed into Dieu’s blessed kingdom. Rest now, and remain assured of your place amongst your betters  – Emperors, Princes, and fellow countrymen. Now, rest well and know that you are now their equal.”

[Lirinya 4021]

"About time", replied his wife, before they skipped off to enioy being forever drunk in the afterlife.